Jimmy Butler Trade Boosts 76ers’ NBA Title Odds

Jimmy Butler will reportedly be traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Philadelphia 76ers for Robert Covington and Dario Saric.

Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has updated NBA title odds, moving the 76ers from 20/1 last week to 16/1 after the trade.

Having a nice relaxing Fall Saturday? Well, the NBA never takes a day off, and today reports came out that Jimmy Butler will be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Here’s the final word on the trade, which will be official Monday.

Star players aren’t traded very often in the NBA, and Butler should definitely be classified as such: He ranked fourth in the league last year behind just Chris Paul, James Harden and Stephen Curry with a +6.39 Real Plus-Minus. He added a whopping 12.8 wins, per RPM, to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Sportsbooks were quick Saturday afternoon to update title odds. Here’s how odds at Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook have changed since the beginning of the season:

2018-19 NBA Title Odds

The 76ers are now up to 16/1 to win the 2018-19 NBA title; the Wolves dropped all the way to 500/1 sans Butler. And if you prefer nihilistic angles, the Warriors, overwhelming favorites as usual, didn’t budge today:

We’ll have more reactions on the trade and how it will impact these teams on the court. There are many questions yet to be answered about how Butler will fit with the 76ers, especially young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, and whether they now have enough power to get out of what looks to be a tough Eastern Conference, headlined by the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.